What a great movie! Full of twists and turns and pure adrenalin pumping excitement! What has this movie to do with you managing your money you might well ask? Well Sean Connery planned to the last detail what would happen when he tried to defect to the USA. He knew what the Russians would do and what the US response would be before they even knew it! He planned ahead!

October is the most critical month for planning our budget, there are as I write only 65 days till Christmas! We have two options, plan or don’t plan for our Christmas spending and holidays. By not doing a simple plan/budget now in October you will end up like you do every Christmas holiday, financially and mentally stressed.

So lets have a reality check with your money and plan now before the temptaion to overspend, which really means using the ‘plastic’ to fund our ‘ho ho ho’ until the statement comes in and then it’s ‘oh oh’!!

Let’s face it who wants to be paying for Christmas in April? No One!

Ok now here’s what I want you to do to prevent this!

Work out with your family the total amount you can afford to spend on gifts for family and friends this Christmas without going into debt.

Now it really is as simple as getting a piece of paper, writing down the names of everyone you want to buy gifts for, or in some cases have to buy gifts for, and writing a dollar amount next to that name. Then add all the amounts up and look at the total. Is it the same or less than the the total amount you agreed on? No, well look at cutting back some of the amounts you have written down or dare I say eliminating some altogether! Stay within your budget! If you have children get them involved in working with the budget to help you choose gifts for family and friends. This will help them appreciate the value of money as well.

Do the same for your holiday as well. Whether you plan to go away or just laze about at home make sure you set a budget for the activities and plan for them!

Don’t stress out if the amount you have decided on is not as high as you would want it to be. Gifts are fun to give and receive and they definitely should not come at a cost of financial stress! Just keep asking yourself this question as you work through your plan/budget - ‘Is it worth it to buy hundreds of dollars of stuff now, only to pay for it later and still be in debt?’

Just like Sean Connery did in ‘Red October” put your plan in place now and don’t end up in the ‘RED’ in April!

People often assume that saving money means putting aside several hundred dollars on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis and that saving small change and odds and ends won’t add up. Let’s face it we don’t all have the ability to save hundreds of dollars of our income but by starting small, big things can happen.  While it does take a bit more time and effort to save loose change, you have the ability to grow your savings by making deposits whenever you have any excess cash.

The truth be known, adding small amounts of money frequently into your savings account is a lot easier than adding large deposits less frequently. Let’s face it, deposit frequently, and you will get your high interest savings rate working harder for you - meaning that each dollar you add will grow at the savings rate for the entire life of its stay in your account.

Most people will happily spend $15 on a lunch, per day - yet if you were to save just $15 a week, you would save $780 over the course of the year. How easy is that, by starting to cut out just one lunch per week you are on your way to creating wealth and reducing your debt. Combine that with your daily interest earning rate, and you could easily have far more than your $780 in a year from very little saving effort.

Tips to save small amounts of money

• 1. Empty your pockets of loose change (coins) each night and put in a jar. A friend of mine uses one of those large blue water bottles.
• 2. Every time you have a $5 note in your wallet, add it to your jar.
• 3. Always make sure your everyday account has even numbers. If you have $673.50 in your account, deposit $26.50 into your savings account online.
• 4. Set a savings goal of something small per day. Eg; ensure you add $5 or $2 to your savings jar every day.
• 5. Once a month, take all your coins and bank them into your high interest account. It’s payback time! Drives the banks nuts, apologies to my bank mates.

Once off payments to boost savings

Have you ever considered using a strategy to save small amounts of money that you get throughout the year, but weren’t actually counting on? For instance, why not save (no matter how small):

• 1. Any tax you get back in your return.
• 2. Your bonus or commissions.
• 3. Money given to you for presents.
• 4. Any extra cash you receive from selling goods online.

Other sources of simple small savings

Do you have any other ways to save small amounts of money? It would be great to learn some tricky ways to boost the savings account through little tips. Why not share them with us, I would love to hear them!

In the meantime why not have a look at how ‘the ihatebudgets system’ can help you achieve your goals.

Imagine setting out on a cross-country car trip with no itinerary, no maps, no money and no source of help. Jumping in the car, and heading across the country with no direction and no planning may sound like fun (and it might be for awhile), but what happens at the first sign of trouble? Living without a budget is a lot like that car trip.

It may seem easy enough to buy what you want, when you want it, use credit cards to handle those nuisance bills that come along very few months (like car insurance, car tags and registration and even a prescription or two), but what do you do when something large hits? Would you find yourself in serious financial trouble if your income suddenly changed due to redundancy or a career-change; the roof needs to be replaced; or the car breaks down?

Spending plans, otherwise known as budgets, are just that: a plan for how you handle your money, to better prepare you for all of life’s twists and turns. Most people hate even the thought of a budget. Why? Because they’ve been taught that a budget limits what they can have; what they can do; and what they can spend. Smart financial planners know that the opposite is really true. A good budget can be used to set the stage for financial security, and gives the freedom to spend money on honestly, anything.

Imagine the next time that six monthly car insurance bill arrives in the mail: you open it, look at the total and reach for your visa debit card, knowing that the entire amount is there, just waiting to be paid. Whew! Sound too easy? Setting up, and living by, a good budget can free you of the stress and chaos of juggling money and credit cards to meet the bills. It’s a way for consumers to break free from the bondage of debt and have the money for the fun stuff , without the worry of how to pay for it later.

What else can a budget do for you? Here are 5 important benefits of budget-based living:

1: Following A Realistic Budget Helps Free Up Cash For The Fun Stuff.  

2: A Budget Helps You Prepare For Emergencies.Eventually something large is going to beak and need replaced. It may be a washing machine, or it could be your car. Are you ready for the inevitable? Budgets allow the user to see where their money is going, and to help them better equip them to both save for emergencies, and clearly see where changes can be made if an unexpected expense comes up. A good idea is to try and save at least 10% of your income for emergencies. When John was suddenly made redundant, he and his wife Helen had very little saved, but they used their budget figures to immediately see what temporary cuts could be made to get them through a few lean months with very little stress and worry. 

3: A Budget Can Both Get You Out of Debt; and Keep You Out Of Debt.Credit card debt in Australia is currently around $35 Billion. That doesn’t even begin to account for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we each carry in additional mortgages, car, and student loans debt. Owing money is an Australian way of life. It has even been cited as the no. 1 reason for divorce in the Australia and the US. Creating a budget the whole family can live with, will ease the burden of debt on the Australian household by teaching everyone in the family how to curb their overspending habits and live a more sensible, and stress-free financial life. 

4: Budgets Teach Responsibility.We see in every magazine, on every billboard, and in every commercial: you want it, you deserve it, go get it – no matter what the cost. The instant gratification of Australian credit has taken a severe toll on our sense of responsibility. After all, we can buy now, and pay later, much later, so who needs to think responsibly? Unfortunately, those bills eventually come due, and many people aren’t ready for them. Budgets help reign in over spenders, and teach them real financial responsibility. 

5: A Budget Eases Stress.Money concerns are a top stress inducer in today’s over indulgent society. It has been reported however, that those who live by a budget experience less stress in their daily lives. Surprisingly, that was true for both minimum wage workers, as well as high-income workers. It didn’t seem to matter how much (or how little), income a household reported, the fact that they knew how to ideal spend their money seemed to play a significant role in the stress they reported in their overall life. 

Creating a budget may seem like an exercise in futility to some, but the statistics are clear: budgets are good for you! What have you got too lose, except for a lot of worry? Try a budget and see what unexpected benefits you find yourself reaping.

·       There you have it, five reasons why budgeting is an important part of your personal finances. If you don’t budget, or did at one time but stopped, take the time to set something up today. With valuable tools like ihatebudgets it’s becoming easier and easier to record and maintain a budget.

Let’s be honest, budgeting isn’t fun. It’s never fun. However, it’s an important part of personal finance for a variety of reasons. I’ll discuss five of them below in hopes that it will change your mind about budgeting if you don’t do it now. If you do budget and you do it for a reason I haven’t listed, I invite you to share it in the comments!

What You Measure, You Can Improve

The classic struggle with money is always to spend less than you earn. If you spend more than you earn, you run the risk of burning through your savings and taking on debt. Once you start budgeting, you’ll have a better idea of how much you’re spending and know how much “wiggle room” you have in your monthly spending. Are you $100 away from going underwater? Or $500? Or $1000? By measuring, you know for sure.

Better Decision Making

By knowing how much you spend on each category, you can make decisions about your spending. Having numbers gives you the information you need to decide whether you are spending too much in one category or spending too little. By writing down each purchase or each expense, you start making active decisions, rather than going along with what you did last month.

Along with the decision making is the ability to improve how you spend your money. If you’re spending too much in one category, not you know for certain and can take steps to curtail the excess spending. The more data you have, the better informed your decision making will be.

Budget In Savings

If you don’t budget, chances are your savings strategy is to “save whatever is left at the end of the month.” That’s a bad way to save towards your goals because it’s unpredictable, especially if you’re not budgeting. It’s better to establish an amount and include it in your monthly budget, that way you can be sure to hit your savings targets.

If you earmark a specific dollar amount and adjust your budget accordingly, you ensure that every money you are planning on saving that amount. Maybe something happens and you can’t save what you planned, but at least now you know why. More often than not, you’ll save that earmarked amount because you planned for it… which gets to your next reason.

It Helps You Plan

I touched on this in the “budget in savings” reason but the broader reason is that having a budget helps you plan for the future. Once you save up an emergency fund, you start saving for a house or a car, maybe you pay down some debt, or maybe you save towards starting a family. You will reach these goals faster if you manage your finances closely and actively contribute to your savings. We all know we want to achieve certain milestones in our lives, now it’s a matter of putting in a system that gets us there.

Keeps You Honest

When you have to document every purchase, it keeps you honest. It plugs up the leaks in your budget where money slips out because you weren’t keeping too close tabs on it. Do you spend a dollar each day on coffee? Or five? Do you just pull cash out of your wallet or purse without any accounting for that money? It’s so easy to take $50 out of the ATM and just spend it. There’s no accountability, you can spend it on anything and you wouldn’t be the wiser come the end of the month. By keeping a budget, you account for each dollar you spend and that’s a powerful incentive to stay honest.

It Helps You Avoid Debt, Helps Your Credit

Here’s a bonus reason that I don’t think most people keep in mind – by budgeting, you avoid debt. By budgeting, you avoid spending more than you earn and you avoid the downward spiral of credit card debt. I always advocate avoiding credit card use if you can’t pay it off at the end of the billing cycle and if you spend less than you earn, it’s possible. This will help ensure you have a good credit and credit score  so that you can get low interest loans on the things you may want to buy in the future, such as a car or a house.

There you have it, five (plus a bonus) reasons why budgeting is an important part of your personal finances. If you don’t budget, or did at one time but stopped, take the time to set something up today. With valuable tools like ihatebudgets it’s becoming easier and easier to record and maintain a budget.

“Write down every penny I spend? You have got to be Kidding!”
“What a waste of time.”
“I already know where all of my money goes, it just goes.”
“Tracking every purchase is obsessive.”
“Money is the root of all evil - if I pay that much attention to it, it will consume me.”
“I don’t spend any money, well maybe a little!”

All of the above are excuses I’ve heard for not following my no.1 personal budget tip, record your spending! I think they’re all crocks. But hey, that’s just my opinion, based on how much tracking my own spending has helped me since I started several years ago.

 Want to prove me wrong? Agree with me and want to prove me right? Want to experiment and see if it could help you? Or maybe you’re just the kind of person that likes to take up random challenges you find on the Internet? 

No matter what your situation, outlook, financial standing, sex, I want YOU to take part in my “Know Where Your Money Goes” Challenge!

This is what I want you to do!

1. Declare your awesomeness! Post a comment on this entry, pledging your commitment to track your expenses (all of them!) for the month of July. Using the word “commit” somewhere in your comment will help keep you on track, make a commitment.
2. Track everything you buy (and how much you pay for it!) for the month of July.

Yeah, that’s really it. On the 1st of August, I’ll make a wrap-up post and I invite everyone to come back and post comments about their progress.

How should you track your expenses? That’s up to you! I have had great success carrying a little pocket notebook and using that, as do a lot of my existing budget users. A Smart Phone, PDA, or iPhone will work, if you’ve got one. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as it works for you!

 Already track your expenses? Fantastic! Then commit to keep on doing that! This should be fun, no matter what. We’ll all encourage each other, remind each other, share techniques… and hopefully brag and boast about how awesome we are.

 Added bonus: if anyone asks why you’re writing down everything you buy, you can tell them it’s because you’re taking control of your finances rather than your finances controlling you.

People often look for BIG solutions to their financial problems when often, taking care of the small dollars is the right solution. That old, old adage of ‘taking care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves’ is as effective today as ever it was. Becoming smarter with the small dollars enables you to acquire effective money habits which ensure that when you have access to big dollars (such as pay increases, superannuation payouts, for example), they won’t slip through your fingers. We’ve compiled a list of TEN good money tips to help you save - or accumulate - dollars:

DON’T GIVE MONEY AWAY: The little fees and charges mount up considerably! Like *accountkeeping charges *late payment charges * handling fees - such as for sending out paper invoices/statements. If you’re dealing with a company that is robbing you by stealth, call a halt by moving companies or challenging their charges.

SAVE MONEY BY BUNDLING:
Use one provider for your phone, internet, cable etc. You’re likely to get discounts by combining services as well as saving on double charges such as line rentals. Check out the following website for a better deal; www.lowermybills.com

COMPARISON SHOP:
Never buy a product or service until you have got at least 3 quotes and make sure you compare apples with apples. [ie beware the hidden traps]. This is highly recommended for products such as car/health/house insurance etc.
And……

NEGOTIATE:
Don’t be afraid to tell the salesperson that you have shopped around, show them the lower comparison price. In the majority of cases, they’ll beat the price or throw in some ‘sweeteners’ to get your business.

GET INTERESTED IN INTEREST:
Interest on borrowings are inevitable but you can still save some of that interest for yourself. Paying out your mortgage early by adding a little extra to your monthly payments; paying more frequently if it’s daily reducible interest instead of monthly; shop around or negotiate for a cheaper rate rather than accept what’s being offered;

TAKE THE SOCIAL CHALLENGE:
Look for creative ways to cut your entertainment expenses; dinner parties at home rotated around a group of friends is a lot cheaper than dining out; or use discount coupons for cheap meals; free concerts; house concerts are a cheap alternative for a group of friends; host a games night for a group of friends - bet you haven’t done that for years?!

DEMOTE THE ‘BIG NOTE’:
When did we take onboard the idea that our value as a person was inherent in the value of the gifts we give? Each year we try to outdo our previous year’s spend - and each other’s too! Get back to basics; * give because you love not because you owe *be creative in your gift giving - hand made with love beats bargain basement leftovers any day! *set limits for Christmas and birthdays *a service counts as a gift too…try “happy birthday, I’ll mow your
lawn for 2 months”…..

SHOP SMARTER AT THE MARKET: Plan your Menus, make a list, shop with the list and stick to it. Set a limit and take only that amount of money when youshop - the prospect of being embarrassed at the checkout when you’ve overspent, is enough to make you stick to your shopping list! Leave your credit cards at home

STAY COOL AND TALK LESS.
Cut your energy and phone bills by becoming energy smart -learn how to get the best from your heating/cooling appliances; in winter, reach for the jumper before the heater…in summer try a swim or cool shower first. Use blinds/curtains to keep the house cool in summer, retain the heat in winter. Limit social phone calls to the cheaper evening zone….use the landline before the mobile if possible. These 2 bills between them cause more heart palpitations than some television shows!

DEPEND ON A FRIEND:
Getting together with friends, family or neighbours to save money is a great approach to help with your personal budgets. Buying in bulk for example when it comes to household shopping, makes sense when there’s a bunch of you to share the goods and the purchasing. Car pooling for work, kids activities etc, can make sense to save fuel and car costs. Check the ihb website for loads of great money saving tips, year‘round.

www.ihatebudgets.com.au

Well, it’s that time of year again, end of financial year, tax time. Do you have all your dockets and receipts together? There are only a couple of weeks left.

If you have a budget plan in place, then you shouldn’t find it too daunting. You will have all your receipts together, medical and pharmaceutical as well because if you have outlayed over a certain amount, you are able to claim the excess as a tax deduction. For many years I did not know any of these things and the tax agent never enlightened me to these details. I suppose it was extra work for them and no extra money. If it hadn’t been that I was discussing tax issues with an employer of mine one day and she told me all the odd extras I could claim on, I would have been none the wiser. So, if you don’t know exactly what you can claim, do your homework, ask someone who knows and go armed with all the correct paperwork to your tax agent.  Anything that you are able to claim back is yours, why should the tax man keep your hard earned money. You are entitled to every cent.

Having a budget program only makes things easier for you when this time of year comes around. With the ihatebudgets program you will automatically have all the information in place that has been collected all year round, making it simpler at tax time. And that’s only one of its advantages.

The sooner you get your taxes done the sooner you can put that tax cheque to work for you cause you have earned it by being a diligent budget-er.

Isn’t it crazy! One day you are going along your usual road and everything is just fine and dandy, and within hours your life can change, just like that!

A friend of mine recently lost his job, unaware he was going to be placed in an unemployed position. After the initial shock, he gathered himself together and thought, “OK, where do I go from here.”

Luckily for him and his family, he had purchased an “ihatebudgets” program from Greg Bell 12 months ago and with Greg’s help managed to get his finances into good shape. With consistent use of the personal budgeting program, he was able to see where he was going wrong with his money and changed his way of thinking and spending habits.

Within 12 months he has been able to save a small nest egg and fortunately, be able to support himself and his family for a few months until he is able to get back into employment again. The added advantage of using “ihatebudgets” is that previously he would not have been able to budget his finances had he been unemployed but now feels comfortable in the fact that he has the knowledge of knowing where he can save and has learnt so many budget tips from the “ihatebudgets website“.  

I can’t say he is in the happiest state, but he is in a good position at the moment and thinking positive that he will be employed sooner rather than later. By putting his finances in the right place 12 months ago has made this upheaval a little more bearable.

It certainly pays to be prepared and in control of your money especially in these uncertain times.

Serving Size: 4

Special Info: Egg free, Nut free

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small brown onion, grated
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tin diced tomatoes, drained
• 4-5 whole basil leaves
• ¼ cup thickened cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pkt fettuccini pasta
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Method:

Boil water and cook pasta following the packet instructions.

Heat oil over medium heat in small saucepan.

Add grated onion and sweat for 1-2 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes, basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and then simmer for 5 minutes.

Add cream and simmer for a further 3-4 minutes.

Drain pasta, pour over sauce and serve as is or with grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

• Cooking the tomato paste before adding new ingredients will release the flavour of the paste.
• I add the basil leaves whole for the flavour – the added bonus is that if your kids don’t like green, you can easily remove the offending leaves before serving but the flavour is still in the sauce.
• Recipe created by Camilla Baker for Kidspot, Australia’s best recipe finder.